Tokyo stocks open higher

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Tuesday, extending Wall Street gains after inflation fears that sparked wild volatility earlier this month receded.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.09 percent or 241.11 points to 22,394.74 in early trade while the broader Topix index was up 0.90 percent or 16.04 points at 1,790.85.

“Following rallies in the European and US bourses, Japanese shares seem to be brisk” in Tuesday trading, Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.
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New US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell will speak before key congressional committees on Tuesday and Thursday in his debut appearance.

Markets will pore over his comments for clues about plans for monetary policy — though many predict he will stick to the path of his predecessor Janet Yellen.

Ahead of Powell’s speech later Tuesday, “normally investors should step aside from active trading,” Okasan said.

However, with the market already factoring in a faster-than-earlier-expected pace of rate hikes this year, the Fed boss’s speech “may be over without making waves in the market,” it added.

The yen traded at 107.01 yen in early Asian trade, up from 106.93 yen in New York late Monday.

Turning to individual shares, game giant Nintendo rose 1.35 percent to 49,430 yen, Sony advanced 1.35 percent to 9,172 yen and Panasonic gained 1.74 percent to 1,699.5 yen.

Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo casual clothes, was up 1.22 percent at 43,860 yen.

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